Plumbers Support Pillow

ABSTRACT

Two identical support cushions are flexibly joined to provide ergonomic support to a person having to perform physical activities in a supine position, often in confined spaces, such as a plumber lying on his back under a sink inside a cabinet with the lower part of the body being positioned on the room floor and the upper part of the body being positioned on the raised floor of the cabinet. The lightweight and rugged support cushions can be easily configured into a valise-like rectangular shape for easy carrying utilizing integrated handles. In addition, a plurality of lamps is enclosed within the support cushion, the lamps comprising light diffusing lenses and the lamps being spatially aligned to provide illumination with minimum shadow creation of the space in front of the supported person, such as a plumber working under a sink in a cabinet.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

People employed in various crafts, especially plumbers, often have towork much of the time in a supine position with the worker's bodydistributed over uneven surfaces in a confined space. Most typical ofsuch a work environment is a plumber working under a sink in a kitchenor in a bathroom cabinet. The cabinet floor is typically elevated overthe room floor by the height of the space under the cabinet, known tothose skilled in the art of kitchen cabinets as kickspace. A plumberworking in a cabinet has the upper part of the body, that is shouldersand above, positioned under a sink inside a cabinet and the feetpositioned on the room floor.

Body measurements of plumbers and cabinet dimensions vary significantly.The relationship of the plumber's body measurements to the cabinetdimensions will determine where will the plumber's buttocks bepositioned. The closer the plumber's buttocks are to the edge of thecabinet floor, the higher the level of discomfort the plumber willexperience. If the plumber's body measurements and the cabinet size aresuch that the position of the plumber's buttocks is on the room floorjust in front of the cabinet, or if the plumber must maintain thebuttocks in the air above the floor by exerting a strain on theplumber's muscular system, then the plumber is risking a potentiallyserious spinal injury.

Other source of strain on the plumber's spine is from the necessity ofhaving to keep the plumber's head at a position that is elevated abovethe cabinet floor.

A person working in a confined space, such as under a sink in a cabinethas to use both hands for the task at hand. Support of the worker's bodyin a supine position with the body extended over the uneven or irregularsurfaces often requires the worker to use one of the hands foradditional body support. The use of one hand for support complicates thework task and increases chances of worker's injury. Additionally, workin confined spaces, such as a plumber working in a cabinet, requires theworkspace to be well illuminated, preferably without shadows. Having tocarry lamps, and finding means to attach one or more lamps in a positionproviding proper illumination, further complicates the worker's task.

The “Foldable Crawler”, U.S. Pat. No. 3,677,569 by Larson, provides acrawler to facilitate working in a supine position under a kitchen sink.The “Foldable Crawler” supports the plumber on a hard surface in asubstantially horizontal position only. The “Plumber's Support Pillow”arrangement supports the plumber in an ergonomically more correct cantedposition and on a softer resilient surface and provides means toilluminate the workspace in a manner that minimizes the shadow creationby the illuminating means.

Other support cushions taught by prior art, such as the “PortableMultiple Section Adjustable Posture Contour Care Bed” taught by Bills inU.S. Pat. No. 4,802,249, and the “Adjustable Personal Support Apparatus”taught by Edelson in U.S. Pat. No. 4,987,625, and the “Cross-leggedSeating Apparatus” taught by Edelson in U.S. Pat. No. 5,029,350, and the“Multiple Position Support cushion” taught by Raftery in U.S. Pat. No.5,432,967, and the “Support cushion and Method for AccommodatingMultiple Body Positions” by Roberson in U.S. Pat. No. 6,578,217, providepersonal body support on single plane horizontal surfaces and do notteach the means to support a plumber working in a supine position overraised surface, such as in a cabinet under a sink.

The “Multiple Position Tool Caddy Seat” taught by Young in U.S. Pat. No.5,733,011, describes a tool caddy that can also be used to support aworker laying on his stomach.

The need thus clearly exists for a device that provides lightweightergonomic support, and workspace illumination, for persons working in asupine position over a raised surface in a confined space.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The object of this invention is a system of flexibly joinable supportcushions for ergonomic support of a person working in a supine position,on uneven surfaces in confined spaces. The preferred embodiment of theinvention is optimized for plumbers typically working in a supineposition spread over two vertically displaced surfaces, with the upperpart of the plumber's body, usually shoulders and above, positionedunder a sink inside a cabinet, the floor of which is typically raisedapproximately four inches above the room floor, and the feet positionedon the room floor.

The flexibly joinable support cushions provide an ergonomic support forthe plumber's body, the head, and the shoulders, and the buttocks,enabling all body supports to be positioned on a single cantedessentially flat plane, thus eliminating the potential of an injury thatcan be caused by strain on the spine typical of work in a supineposition over uneven vertically displaced surfaces and eliminating mostof the discomfort typical with this type of activity.

The optional use of the multiple lamps built into the support cushionfurther contributes to the safety and efficiency of plumber's work byilluminating the workspace above the plumber. Lamps housed in thesupport cushion provide diffused light beams for illumination of theworkspace. Diffused light from multiple light beams minimizes thecreation of shadows which are created by an object or by the plumber'shand intersecting a single light beam, such as from a portable lamp orfrom a flashlight.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a single support cushion.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a support cushion core and thedefinition of the dimensions defining the support cushion shape.

FIG. 3 schematically depicts the ergonomic support of a person in asupine position over two vertically separated surfaces, as provided bythe two identical flexibly joined support cushions, wherein a canted,essentially flat support platform is created by these cushions.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view depicting the use of Velcro tape fastenerto join two support cushions.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of valise-like arrangement of the twoidentical support cushions for carrying.

FIG. 6 is the cross-section 6-6 of FIG. 5, depicting the two identicalsupport cushions in the valise-like arrangement.

FIG. 7 schematically depicts the use of a single support cushion tosupport a person's upper body on a level floor.

FIG. 8 schematically depicts the use of two identical disconnectedsupport cushions to provide support of a person's upper body on a levelfloor with increased upper body elevation.

FIG. 9 schematically depicts the use of three identical support cushionsto support a person in a sitting position.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a support cushion with four lamps, abattery compartment and a switch.

FIG. 11 is the electrical schematic of a circuit of four-lamps with asingle switch and a single battery.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to identical substantially wedge-like six-sidedpolyhedron shaped support cushions that are capable of beingnon-permanently flexibly joined and arranged in several configurationsfor the purpose of providing ergonomic support to a person having toperform manual activities, mostly while the person's body is in a supineposition. The support cushions may be used to support a person on asingle surface or the support cushions may be configured to support aperson's body over a plurality of staircase-like vertically andhorizontally separated planes. The support cushions may further comprisea plurality of light sources embedded in the support cushions to providea substantially diffused illumination of the space in front of theperson while supported by the support cushions in supine position insmall substantially enclosed spaces.

A plumber working in a cabinet has the upper part of the body, that isshoulders and above, positioned under a sink inside a cabinet and thefeet positioned on the room floor. The cabinet floor is typicallyelevated over the room floor by the height of the space under thecabinet, known to those skilled in the art of kitchen cabinets askickspace) The height differences and the elevated edge of the cabinetfloor create pressure on the plumber's spine and cause potentiallyinjurious strain of many muscle groups while the plumber is in a supineposition working in the cabinet.

The preferred embodiment, as schematically illustrated on FIG. 4,comprises a first support cushion 100A and an identical second supportcushion 100B arranged to support a plumber 410 without pain anddiscomfort while in a substantially supine positions with the plumber'slower body being positioned on a room floor and the plumber's upper bodybeing positioned on a raised floor inside a cabinet. The first supportcushion 100A is positioned with it's base surface 110A on the room floor420, cross-section of which is shown for reference with phantom lineoutlines. The second support cushion 100B is positioned with it's basesurface 110B on the cabinet floor 430, cross-section of which is shownfor reference with phantom line outlines. The first and the secondsupport cushions are flexibly and non-permanently joined with a Velcrofastener consisting of a first part 312A which is attached to the topsurface of the first support cushion 160A and of a complementary part311B which is limply attached to the edge of the support cushion createdby the front surface 120B and the top surface 160B of the second supportcushion 100B. The top surface 160A of the first support cushion 100A andthe top surface 160B of the second support cushion 100B thus joined andpositioned form a substantially straight platform, wherein the platformforms an oblique angle with the floors 420 and 430. The platform formedby the two support cushions is elevated over the edge of the cabinetfloor 430 which is typically raised above the room floor 420 by acabinet base 431. The plumber 410 is comfortably supported in anergonomically correct position above the two floors by the cantedplatform as depicted in FIG. 4, wherein the plumber's buttocks 411 aresupported by the top surface 160A of the first support cushion, and theplumber's shoulders 412 and the plumber's head 413 are supported by thetop surface of the second support cushion 160B.

The construction of the support cushions 100 is shown in FIG. 1. Theresilient core 10 is covered with cover material 301. The essentialcharacteristics of the cover material comprise durability, and mildewresistance, and capability of being waterproof, such as provided by thepreferred cover material which is 330 Denier Cordura.

Further referring to FIG. 1, a strip of approximately 2″ wide webbing312 is attached to the support cushion near each of the two edges formedby the back surface with the side surfaces. The length of the strip isapproximately 10% larger than the length of the back surface, thuscreating a pliable handle for carrying.

The shape of the support cushion results from the shape of the six-sidedpolyhedron core 10 shown on FIG. 2. The core 10 of the preferredembodiment has: a length of approximately eighteen inches, and a widthof approximately thirteen-and-a-half inches, and a front height ofapproximately one-and-a-half inches, and a back height of approximatelysix inches. The afore shown dimensions have been found to be mostsuitable for plumber's work under sinks. The core of the preferredembodiment is made of lightweight resilient material, such as open-cellpolyurethane foam. Other materials capable of being resilientlycompressible may be substituted. The importance of resiliency andcompressibility is required for the comfortable support of the plumberas shown on FIG. 4, wherein the buttocks 411 and the shoulders 412 andthe head 413 create a conforming concave compressions in the supportingsupport cushions further reducing the strain on the plumber's spinewhile supporting the plumber in the supine position. The density of thecore material will vary with the user's size and the core dimensionswill vary with the environment for which the support cushions will bemade.

Further referring to FIG. 1, the means for flexibly joining the supportcushions to each other consist of a sew-on tape hook and loop Velcrofastener. The first part of the fastener 312 is a Velcro tape attachedto the top surface of the support cushion parallel with and near theedge created by the top surface with the back surface. The complementarycomponent of the fastener is formed by attaching the complementaryVelcro fastener 311 to a strip of cover material wherein the assembly ofthe cover material strip is attached to the edge of the support cushioncreated by the top surface of the support cushion with the front surfaceof the support cushion.

The details of joining the two identical support cushions 100A and 100Bto form a two-support cushion arrangement are depicted on FIG. 3,wherein the non-permanent flexible joining is achieved by pressingtogether the complementary parts of the Velcro fasteners 311B and 312A.

Referring to FIG. 5, an arrangement into a valise-like assembly formedby two support cushions is depicted. The two support cushions 100A and100B are arranged facing each other with their respective top surfaceswith the front surface of one of the support cushions located next tothe back surface of the other support cushion. The Velcro fastener ofeach support cushion is attached to the complementary fastener of theother support cushion to form a substantially solid six-sided prism,wherein each surface of the prism is a rectangle and opposite sides arecongruent. The joined first and second part of the Velcro fasteners 311and 312 are shown on FIG. 6, the cross-section 6-6 of the valise-likeassembly shown on FIG. 5. Referring to FIG. 6, there are all remainingparts of the support cushion shown, the core 10, the cover 601, and thehandles 320A and 320B.

An alternate embodiment utilizing a single support cushion is shown onFIG. 7, wherein the upper body and head of the person 410 is supportedon a single substantially level floor surface 420 by a single supportcushion 100.

Another alternate embodiment of a two-support cushion arrangement isshown on FIG. 8, wherein the upper body and head of the person 410 issupported by the first support cushion 100A, the base 110A of which ispositioned on the top surface 160B of the second support cushion 100Band wherein the second support cushion 100B is positioned on a singlesubstantially level floor surface 420. The first support cushion 100A isnot attached to the second support cushion 100B and can be slideablylocated on the top surface 160B of the support cushion 100B as needed tovary the elevation of the support surface.

Another alternate embodiment utilizing three identical support cushionsis shown on FIG. 9, wherein the valise-like arrangement of supportcushions 100A and 100B is used to support a sitting person and the thirdsupport cushion 100C is used to provide a backrest.

Yet another embodiment comprising three or more identical supportcushions in a train-like arrangement to form a longer platform which mayextend over additional staircase-like surfaces can be formed byattaching the support cushions next to each other as was shown for thetwo identical support cushions in the preferred embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 10 an embodiment of the support cushion withilluminating means is described. Embedded in the top surface of thesupport cushion 100 are four lamps 710, located approximately in thevicinity of the corners of the top surface of the support cushion 100.The lamps 710 produce preferably a light beam with an angle ofdistribution between 10 and 60 degrees, and the lamps are so positionedin the support cushion that an imaginary axis perpendicular to the lampthrough the center of the lamp will be tilted toward the approximatecenter of the support cushion at an angle of preferably between 5 and 20degrees with an imaginary line perpendicular to the top surface of thesupport cushion 100 thus dispersing the illumination in the space overthe person's head therefore minimizing the creation of shadows by theplumber's hands and other obstructions typically found in a sinkcabinet. The lamps are preferably of a low-temperature LED type, whereineach lamp is selected from a range of lamps capable of producing a lightoutput in the range of 1 to 5 Lumens at an luminous intensity of 10 to50 Candelas while powered by preferably a direct current battery at avoltage of 9 V or less and a power consumption of not more than 0.5Watts. The battery is stored in an accessible compartment 750 embeddedin the support cushion and accessed on the side surface. The on-offcontrol of the lamps is provided by a switch 730 embedded in the supportcushion and accessed on the side surface. The electrical schematic ofthe arrangement of the four lamps 710, and the switch 730, and battery750 is shown on FIG. 11. Two-lamp and six-lamp embodiments may bepreferred in some situations. The number of lamps and characteristics ofthe lamps will vary with the environment in which the invention will beused.

Changes, variations and modifications to the basic design described inthe preferred embodiments may be made without departing from the novelconcepts in this invention. Additionally, these changes, variations andmodifications may be obvious to those skilled in the art having thebenefit of the teachings in this invention. All such changes, variationsand modifications are intended to be within the scope of this invention.

1. A support cushion to provide ergonomic support for a person having towork in a supine position while extended over uneven verticallyseparated surfaces.
 2. A support cushion of claim 1 wherein the supportcushion is a six-sided generally wedge shaped polyhedron comprising: a)a shape defining core of lightweight resilient material comprising: i) ahorizontal rectangular base surface having parallel relatively longeredges and parallel relatively shorter edges; ii) a vertical rectangularfront surface, having parallel vertical edges and a lower horizontaledge and an upper horizontal edge; iii) a vertical rectangular frontsurface, having parallel vertical edges and a lower horizontal edge andan upper horizontal edge; iv) two vertical trapezoidal side surfaces,identical to each other, each having a horizontal bottom edge and avertical front edge and a vertical back edge and sloping top edges,wherein: 1) the horizontal bottom edge is common with one of theparallel longer edges of the horizontal rectangular base surface; 2) thevertical front edge is common with one of the vertical edges of thevertical rectangular front surface; 3) the vertical back edge is commonwith one of the vertical edges of the vertical rectangular back surface;4) the sloping top edge connects the vertical front edge and thevertical back edge of the vertical trapezoidal side surface; v) asloping rectangular top surface having a front edge and a back edge andtwo parallel side edges, wherein: 1) the front edge is common with thehorizontal upper edge of the vertical rectangular front surface; and 2)the back edge is common with the horizontal upper edge of the verticalrectangular back surface; and 3) each of the parallel side edges iscommon with the sloping top edge of one of the vertical trapezoidal sidesurfaces; b) a rugged, waterproof, rot, and mildew resistant wovenfabric cover shaped to closely conform to the core; c) a flexiblenon-permanent fastening means composed of a two part ribbon Velcro hookand loop type fastener, wherein: i) a first ribbon containing the firstcomplemental part of the Velcro fastener is attached to the supportcushion cover on the top rectangular surface, wherein the ribbon isparallel with and near the edge created by the top rectangular surfacewith the back rectangular surface; ii) a strip of cover fabric is limplyattached to the support cushion cover edge created by the top surface ofthe support cushion with the front surface of the support cushion; iii)a second ribbon containing the second complemental part of the Velcrofastener is attached to the strip of cover material limply attached tothe support cushion; d) a carrying strap composed of polypropylenewebbing attached to the support cushion cover at the vertical edges ofthe back rectangular surface, wherein the length of the strap isslightly longer than the longer edge of the back rectangular surface toprovide space for a hand of a person between the back surface of thesupport cushion and the strap.
 3. The support cushion of claim 2,further comprising: a) a plurality of lamp housing compartments alongthe longer edges of the sloping rectangular top surface, at least twolamp housing compartments located near the vertices formed by theparallel side edges of the sloping rectangular top surface with thefront edge of the sloping rectangular top surface, each compartmenthousing a lamp; b) a battery housing compartment, housing a battery,wherein the battery is accessibly located through a vertical trapezoidalside surface; c) a switch mechanism housing compartment, housing aswitch mechanism, wherein the switch mechanism is operably located on avertical trapezoidal side surface near the vertex formed by the top edgeof the vertical trapezoidal side surface with the vertical back edge ofthe vertical trapezoidal side surface.
 4. The support cushion of claim2, further comprising a plurality of compartments distributed along thelonger edge of the sloping rectangular top surface, at least two lamphousing compartments located near the vertices formed by the parallelside edges of the sloping rectangular top surface with the front edge ofthe sloping rectangular top surface, each compartment housing a lampassembly wherein each lamp assembly comprises a lamp, a battery, and aswitch operably located near the surface of the vertical trapezoidalside surface.
 5. A method to ergonomically support a person in a supineposition over a lower and an upper vertically separated surfaces, themethod comprising: a) providing a first and a second cooperating,six-sided generally wedge shaped support cushions, each support cushioncomprising: i) a resilient core having an inclined surface betweenopposite relatively shorter front and longer back surfaces extended froma base surface thereof opposite from the inclined surface, ii) a cover,and iii) one of a set of first and second complementary non-permanentfasteners; the first of the complementary non-permanent fastenersflexibly attached adjacent to an intersection of the inclined surface ofthe second wedge shaped support cushion and the shorter front surfacethereof, and the second of the complementary non-permanent fastenersattached to the inclined surface of the first support cushion adjacentto the longer back surface thereof; b) forming a platform on thevertically separated surfaces by laying the first support cushion withthe base surface thereof on the lower surface and with the longer backsurface thereof adjacent to the step, and by laying the second supportcushion with the base surface thereof on the upper surface and with theshorter front surface adjacent to the longer back surface of the firstsupport cushion; c) joining the first and the second support cushion bypressing the flexibly attached first of the complementary non-permanentfasteners of the second support cushion into a complemental part of thesecond of the complementary non-permanent fasteners hook and loop on thefirst support cushion; and d) laying the person on the said slopedsurface by positioning the person's buttocks on the first supportcushion and positioning both the person's shoulders and the person'shead on the second support cushion.
 6. The method of claim 5, furthercomprising: a) providing a third six-sided generally wedge shapedsupport cushion comprising a resilient core, a cover, and b) elevatingthe person's shoulders and the person's head further off the secondsurface by slidably placing the third support cushion on the secondsurface between the second surface and the second support cushion.
 7. Amethod to ergonomically supporting a person in a sitting position withthe person's back leaning on a vertical wall surface, comprising: a)providing a first and a second identical, six-sided generally wedgeshaped polyhedron support cushions, each support cushion comprising aresilient core, a cover, and flexible non-permanent fastening means; andb) forming a sitting platform by joining the first and the secondsupport cushions by pressing the limply attached part of the hook andloop fastener of the first support cushion into the complemental part ofthe hook and loop fastener on the second support cushion, and bypressing the limply attached part of the hook and loop fastener of thesecond support cushion into the complemental part of the hook and loopfastener on the first support cushion; and c) positioning the sittingplatform next to the wall and positioning the person on the platform. 8.The method of claim 7, further comprising: a) providing a thirdidentical six-sided generally wedge shaped polyhedron support cushioncomprising a resilient core, a cover; and b) positioning the thirdsupport cushion with the back rectangular surface on the sittingplatform, and with the base rectangular surface next to the verticalwall, providing additional ergonomic support.
 9. (canceled)
 10. Asupport cushion, comprising: first and second generally wedge shapedsupport cushions, each support cushion comprising a resilient corehaving an inclined surface between opposite relatively longer andshorter edges; and a set of first and second complementary non-permanentfasteners, the first of the complementary non-permanent type fastenersflexibly attached adjacent to an intersection of the inclined surface ofthe first support cushion and the shorter edge thereof, and the secondof the complementary non-permanent fasteners attached to the inclinedsurface of the second support cushion adjacent to the longer edgethereof.
 11. The support cushion of claim 10, further comprising aplurality of sets of the first and second complementary non-permanentfasteners, the first of a second set of complementary non-permanentfasteners attached to the inclined surface of the first support cushionadjacent to the longer edge thereof, and the second of the second set ofcomplementary non-permanent fasteners attached adjacent to anintersection of the inclined surface of the second support cushion andthe shorter edge thereof.
 12. The support cushion of claim 11 whereinthe resilient core of each of the first and second generally wedgeshaped support cushions further comprises a substantially trapezoidalshape having the inclined surface between the opposite longer andshorter edges.
 13. The support cushion of claim 11 wherein each of thefirst and second generally wedge shaped support cushions furthercomprises a fabric cover substantially enclosing the resilient core andshaped to substantially conform thereto, each of the plurality of setsof the first and second complementary non-permanent fasteners beingattached to the fabric cover of the respective first and second supportcushions.
 14. The support cushion of claim 13 wherein each of the firstof the complementary non-permanent fasteners is further flexiblyattached to the fabric cover by a flap of fabric.
 15. The supportcushion of claim 11 wherein each of the first and second generally wedgeshaped support cushions further comprises substantially identicalgenerally wedge shapes.
 16. The support cushion of claim 11 wherein thecomplementary non-permanent fasteners further comprises complementaryhook and loop type fasteners.
 17. The method of claim 10 wherein one ofthe first and second generally wedge shaped support cushions furthercomprises a lamp.
 18. The method of claim 5, further comprisingproviding a pair of sets of first and second complementary non-permanentfasteners, the first of a second set of the complementary non-permanentfasteners flexibly attached adjacent to an intersection of the inclinedsurface of the first wedge shaped support cushion and the shorter frontsurface thereof, and the second of the second set of the complementarynon-permanent fasteners attached to the inclined surface of the secondsupport cushion adjacent to the longer back surface thereof.
 19. Themethod of claim 18, further comprising: a) attaching a carrying strap toone of the first and second support cushions adjacent to one of theopposite relatively shorter front and longer back surfaces; and b)forming a rectangular valise-like assembly by: i) oppositely facing theinclined surfaces of the first and the second support cushions, ii)pressing the flexibly attached first of the complementary non-permanentfasteners of the second support cushion into the complemental part ofthe second of the complementary non-permanent fasteners on the firstsupport cushion, and iii) pressing the flexibly attached first of thecomplementary non-permanent fasteners of the first support cushion intothe complemental part of the complementary non-permanent fasteners onthe first support cushion.
 20. A support cushion of claim 1, wherein thesupport cushion further comprises a pair of substantially identicalsix-sided generally wedge shaped cushions, each cushion having anelongated substantially trapezoidal cross-section; a) a strip of fabricflexibly attached to each cushion adjacent to an intersection formedbetween an inclined surface of the substantially trapezoidalcross-section and a relatively shorter end surface thereof; b) a firstof a set of first and second complementary hook and loop type fastenersattached to the strip of fabric on a surface thereof facing away fromthe inclined surface; and c) a second of the set of first and secondcomplementary hook and loop type fasteners attached to each cushionadjacent to an intersection formed between an inclined surface of thesubstantially trapezoidal cross-section and a relatively longer endsurface thereof.
 21. The support cushion of claim 20 wherein theinclined surface of one of the wedge shaped cushions further comprisesone or more lamps.